by Aliya DalRae
“We won’t let that happen,” Martin said. He picked up the hand Merlin had let drop and held it to his heart. “And if it does, we’ll go out together.”
Merlin shook his head. “I don’t want that for you, you understand? I don’t want you to die for loving me.”
“And as I said, living without you would just be a different kind of death. You should know. You’ve been living it for a millennium.”
~~~~~
M erlin folded himself against Martin’s body, buried his head in the soft V of Martin’s neck. His scent was warm and musky, and it filled Merlin with peace. Soon, he would battle for his life, and for the lives of those he loved.
He would fight for Martin.
Chapter Forty-Seven
M erlin and Martin showered quickly, much faster than Martin would have liked, but with what lay before them, he absorbed the few moments they had together, naked and wet, and committed them to memory, just in case. Martin grasped Merlin’s hand in his own, and together they boarded the elevator. When the lift door opened on the Sub-T level, Merlin gently removed his hand from Martin’s, then exited into the hall. Martin glanced at his empty hand, then followed Merlin to the War Room, where the rest of the Warriors waited for the explanation Martin had only just received.
When they joined the meeting, everyone was there. Mason sat at his usual spot at the head, while Tas, Raven, Nox, Harrier and Viper filled the seats around the giant oak table. The thin brunette Martin met in Viper’s lab after the KS attack sat to the munition guy’s left.
The chair to Mason’s left, Merlin’s go-to spot, sat empty, and Merlin made no attempt to fill it. Instead, he stood with Martin just inside the door, looking at the people Martin knew his lover considered family.
Mason cleared his throat. “Are you going to take a seat?” he asked.
Merlin shook his head. “I’d rather stand.”
“You want to tell us what the lights-out was all about?” Viper asked. “Must have been pretty major to have slipped past your cuffs.”
Martin stood at attention without the conscious thought to do so. He could tell by Merlin’s lowered head that his Warrior was uncomfortable with what he needed to share. Hell, Martin wasn’t thrilled about it, couldn’t help but wonder if his renewed desire to make Warrior might be affected when they learned of his sexual proclivities. It shouldn’t matter, he knew that, but one could never be certain.
Merlin lifted his chin and straightened his shoulders beside him, and Martin braced himself for the inevitable.
“As you all know, I’ve had some trouble lately with my… focus. You may or may not know that I’ve been struggling with nightmares about my past. About my first lover, Kioshi.”
“Who was she?” the brunette, Sasha, asked.
“Not she, he.”
Martin felt the air exit the room as everyone, including the Warlord, drew in a sharp breath. Tas seemed to be the only one not surprised.
“Didn’t see that one coming,” Raven muttered, and Nox elbowed him in the ribs. “Ow, what?”
Mason collected himself, brushed nonexistent wrinkles from his shirt and placed his palms on the arms of his chair. “What happened?” he asked.
Once again Merlin told his tale. He laid out the details for his fellow Warriors in crisp military fashion, but that made it no easier for Martin to hear a second time. To their credit, not one of them looked at Merlin differently, their respect for the male apparently not changed a bit by knowing this part of his past. In fact, Martin sensed a new level of respect among the Warriors. But that was for Merlin and his centuries-old story. Would that same respect extend to Martin, whose short life consisted of nothing spectacular beyond loving the male next to him?
“So, this Takeshi guy wants you to kill yourself now because you didn’t do it a thousand years ago?” Harrier asked. “That’s what this is all about?”
“Yes,” Merlin said. “The years following my escape, Takeshi Senshi came close to finding me many times, but I managed to stay a step ahead of him, always on the move. Always running. Then Mason found me. He knew what I was, and I never lied about being on the run. He was on his way here, to start up the Fallen Cross Legion, and he offered me a job. The New World seemed about as far from Japan as I would ever get, and so I accepted. I couldn’t fight, not without exposing myself to the Shade, but I found ways to be useful. As long as I kept the Shade at bay, I was safe. We were all safe.”
“So, what happened to set you off?” Viper asked. “I know I said I didn’t want to know before, but well, now I want to know.”
“I met someone.”
Martin pushed his shoulders back as far as they would go, stood to his full height and hardened his gaze, daring any of them to find fault with Merlin’s confession. Tas caught his eye and nodded at him, smiled, and Martin’s resolve faltered. Did he already know?
Mason leaned forward, folded his arms on the table. “I’m assuming that explains Martin’s presence here tonight?”
“Yes, sir.”
The Warlord caught Martin’s eye and held on tight. “And you’re prepared to face the consequences?”
Martin’s eyes widened. Consequences?
“The Kurai Senshi.”
“Oh,” Martin said. “Yes, sir. I’d wade through a million of them to protect Merlin… er… the Compound.”
“I think you said it right the first time,” Mason said. “And that’s a good thing, as I’m making you personally responsible for keeping our electronics genius alive. Merlin, I’m guessing there’s no way I can get you to sit this one out?”
“No way in hell, sir.”
“Then Martin, it’s up to you to watch his back. Viper tells me you’ve had more success at the blind training than anyone, so I’ll consider you an asset perfect for this assignment. How much time do you think we have?”
Merlin lifted his palms to the ceiling. “Hard to say. How far did my powers reach?”
“We had outages all over the Compound. Fortunately, the nearest humans are ten miles away, or we would have had some explaining to do.” Viper said. “Do I even want to know what the two of you were doing?”
Martin felt the blood burning his cheeks, but Merlin answered for them both.
“I was saying goodbye to Martin, for good. I thought I had the Shade under control. It wasn’t the first time I’d sent him away, but this time felt more…”
“Final,” Martin said, and Merlin nodded his agreement.
“I’d taken the cuffs off to shower. When he walked out the door, I realized that, well, a part of my soul left with him, and everything hit me. The sleepless days, the nightmares, the loss… too many emotions at one time and they pushed me over the edge. The Shade felt my weakness and it filled me to the point where it had nowhere to go but out. I will see that any damage is repaired immediately. Assuming…”
Mason waved the last comment away and asked again, “How much time do we have? Before Takeshi finds us?”
“With a surge so powerful, and assuming he’s nearby—”
“Which we do, considering last night’s attack in town,” Mason said.
“—he could be here any time. Hell, he could be at the driveway as we speak.”
“In that case, Viper, where are you and Sasha with your tasks?”
“We had Oz working all day on the contact lenses and he’s handing them out now. Speaking of.” He tossed several cases into the center of the table and each Warrior reached to retrieve one. “They aren’t going to be a great fit, as we didn’t have time to take measurements for everyone’s eyeballs, but when you spark, you’ll be able to see shadows when the lights go out. The dark color will also protect you from Sasha’s little surprise.”
“Is it ready?” Mason asked.
Viper grinned. “They’ll never know what hit ‘em.”
Chapter Forty-Eight
A fter much discussion about strategy and timing, the males began to file out, on their way to prepare for war. That left Sasha in the W
ar Room with Viper, Mason, and a couple others, including Tas. She hadn’t seen much of him since Nox introduced them, but then she didn’t see much of anyone once Viper took control of her schedule. She would have liked to get to know Tas, as he seemed a gentle soul and the gods knew her life was sorely lacking in people like that.
Perhaps when things blew over, she might invite him to tea, have a chat, make a friend if nothing else. She couldn’t claim many of those in her life either. That was assuming, of course, they all survived the night. Which reminded her…
“Viper.” The male was at the door, headed out to supervise, having checked on Oz to find out where he was with his task. When he turned to her, she said, “Where will I be?” They all had their positions and orders on what they would do, but no one said anything about her.
“You need to get back to the lab and finish magicking up those lenses.” He turned to go, and she touched his arm, ignoring the staticky shock that leapt between them.
“No, I mean during the battle. Where do you want me?”
By the dropped jaw and wide eyes, she assumed she’d taken him off guard.
“You’ll be on Sub-T2 with the rest of the females,” he said, as if it were a foregone conclusion. It wasn’t.
“You’re kidding, right?” she asked. “What if something happens out there? What if we need to tweak my magic or…”
“Sub-T2. Now get back to work.”
He turned from her again, brooking no argument.
“That’s bullshit,” she said, the word and the foot stomp gathering the attention of everyone left in the room.
When he spun around this time, his eyes were lit with emerald fire and his fangs had lengthened. Sasha took a step back, but that was the only concession she gave to his chauvinistic display.
“I said no,” he growled, but Mason intervened.
“What’s the problem?” he asked.
Sasha jumped in before Viper could. “I want to be on the field, to be available in case something goes wrong with any of the things I’ve magicked. Plus, I’ve been practicing in my spare time, not that there’s been much of it. I have a few tricks I can bring to the table. You know what my people can do. You should let one of us… let me fight with you, for a change.”
“No,” Viper said.
“Are you speaking to her or to me?” Mason asked, his grey eyes turning silver as they locked with Viper’s.
“Mason, come on.”
“Kitty’s fighting.” The big Warrior, Harrier, had been on his way out but stopped to offer this encouraging bit of support. Sasha gave him a brief smile of gratitude, and he nodded in return.
“Kitty’s a fucking liger,” Viper argued.
“Yeah, but when she’s not a liger, she’s a lot smaller than Sasha, here. If I recall, you underestimated her as well. I never realized you were so sexist, Viper.” Harrier’s tone was light, but golden light swirled in his eyes as tensions among the three Warriors heightened.
Behind them, Tas sighed. “You do know I’m going to have a long night ahead of me. Are you really going to make me start here?”
Mason was the first to step back, probably because he was the Warlord and didn’t need the spark and fang routine to get his point across. He was the boss, after all. “Sasha, go back to the lab, get as many of those lenses enhanced as you can. When the fighting starts, I want you with Viper.”
“No fucking way.”
“Yes, fucking way.” He gave Viper a final flash of silver spark and turned back to Sasha. “Shadow him, stay close but don’t get in his way. When the lights go out it’s going to get messy. You sure you’re up for that?”
“I watched the Primeval torture a male for nearly five-hundred years. It’s not pleasant, but I understand messy.” She turned to Viper and said, “I won’t get in your way. I promise.”
The Warrior shook his head, knew he was defeated, but he wasn’t happy about it. “I’m not worried about you getting in the way,” he grumbled on his way out the door. “I’m worried about you getting killed.”
As he disappeared around the corner, Sasha exchanged a look with the remaining Warriors. By all appearances, they were as stunned by his comment as she was.
Chapter Forty-Nine
W hen the meeting ended, it was decided that Martin would gather his gear and meet Merlin back at the manse where they would prepare for battle together. Normally, the Soldier would have returned to his ranks to fight with his squad, but this was not a normal night, and it would not be a normal battle. There was no way Merlin would let him out of his sight.
They’d only been separated a few minutes, but Merlin felt like hours had passed since they’d parted at the large entry doors in the manse’s lobby. Their kiss was brief, the ease of it more meaningful than the act itself, filling Merlin with a sense of peace he hadn’t known since the early days with Kioshi.
He went to his bedroom and stood before a short-paneled wall on the far side of his bed. The dark wood was plain and unadorned with pictures or shelving. Just a wall to any who glanced that way.
After taking a deep breath to steel himself, he reached to the side of the panel. He felt along the edge, coming to a stop when his fingers brushed the miniscule dent that marred the otherwise smooth surface. When his forefinger aligned with the dent, a light flashed, reading his fingerprint. Seconds later, a rush of stale air filled the room as the panel slid into the wall, exposing a small alcove and the contents hidden within.
Merlin’s armor.
He didn’t know how Mason had done it, only now understood why. But soon after they arrived in America, his Warlord, his savior, called him to his office and presented him with this gift. All he would say was that he knew people who knew people.
Having left the Clan with nothing but the clothes on his back and the tokens he’d taken from Kioshi’s body, being in possession of his armor again was a gift beyond anything Mason could have given him. It was the only thing he’d ever valued during his time with the Kurai Senshi, the only material object that gave him pride. It was made just for him, presented to him by Master Masaru himself upon the completion of his fifth year. Kioshi had been nearly as proud as Merlin, cheering louder than the rest of the Clan combined when Master Masaru suited him up for the first time.
Leaving it behind had been difficult, but he only realized that after the fact. He must have mentioned it to Mason in passing, for by the time they met, he rarely thought of such things. For the Warlord to go to such lengths to retrieve it for him, well, that was above and beyond. It spoke volumes as to the kind of male he was, and the lengths to which he would go to give his Warriors peace.
Merlin ran his fingers along the chest plate, remembered the first time he put it on.
A light rap on the bedroom door pulled him from the memory. Martin stood in the doorway dressed in midnight fatigues, his bag slung over his shoulder, his jaw slack with awe.
“Sorry,” he said. “I… the front door was unlocked. I shouldn’t have…”
“No,” Merlin stepped from the alcove and joined Martin where he stood. “You never have to knock. We’ll discuss living arrangements later.”
“Assuming we live?”
Merlin nodded, his eyes solemn as he held Martin’s gaze. “Assuming we survive the night.”
Martin dropped his bag by the dresser and nodded toward the previously hidden alcove. “Any other secret passageways or hidden staircases you want to mention?” he asked.
Merlin took his hand and led him to the stand holding the armor. “I haven’t worn this in over a thousand years, haven’t looked at it in centuries. I’m surprised it’s still intact.”
“I imagine the Kurai Senshi knew how to make things that lasted back in the day,” Martin said, admiring the black and red scale armor, the horned helm and the fearsome mask.
“Maybe,” Merlin said. “Or maybe they had Sorcerers on the payroll, even back then, to protect the armor from rust and rot. Regardless, I never thought I would wear it again. For centur
ies I thought it lost to me for good. Once it found its way back to me, I figured if Takeshi found me, I’d be dead before I had a chance to suit up. Then as time passed, I became secure here at the Compound, complacent. Years would go by where I wouldn’t even think about the piece of my past hidden within that wall. Now, here we are.”
Martin moved behind him, put his hands on Merlin’s shoulders and rubbed his thumbs over the tight muscles at the base of his neck. “Will you wear it? For Kioshi?” The question was asked as though the answer had no meaning, but Merlin could feel the expectation vibrating through Martin’s fingers.
He considered the armor, what it represented. The love he had for Kioshi, yes, but it also stood for who he was and who he had become. It represented him as a Vampire, not Kurai Senshi, but a male of honor. One who fought for the people he cared about, protected those who meant the most, went to war for those he loved. Would he wear the armor?
“Yes,” he said and turned in Martin’s arms, laid his palms against his lover’s chest. “I will wear the armor, but not to remember Kioshi. I will wear it to fight for our love. I will wear it to honor you.”
Chapter Fifty
“I ’m out of here.”
Sasha looked up to see Oz grab his bag and head toward one of the tables laden with magicked lenses.
“That’s the last of them,” he said, waving his hand at a pile of about twenty cases he’d left on his work table. “I have to get back to the barracks and get my shit… er… stuff together.”
“You’re fighting?” she asked, stunned. The Soldier had not only suffered a severe injury from the previous night’s skirmish but had been up the entire day working on the lenses.
“Well, yeah,” he said, sliding the contacts she’d finished into his bag. “I have to distribute these to anyone who doesn’t have them yet, and then I’ll join my squad. Why?”